By all accounts, Chad Pennington is a very nice man. Because he's such a nice man, it's unlikely that Pennington would be happy knowing that beating the Jets this Sunday could cost Eric Mangini his job. It's the truth, though, and Pennington's not such a sweetheart that he's going to throw the game away and protect the coach that didn't stand up for him. It would be a fitting end to Mangini's tenure.
Way back in October of 2007, Mangini explained his coaching philosophy to George Willis of the New York Post.
"You can't get caught up with statistics. You get caught up in the process. When the process improves the statistics will improve."
Not what actually happens on the field, silly things like wins and losses, but process. That's what really matters. Which is convenient for a coach who frequently looks overmatched during games. Let's look at what this process has been, shall we?
Mangini, and GM Mike Tannenbaum, took over a bad team, went 10-6 against an easy schedule and, before the next season, cut ties with starting guard Pete Kendall because he asked for a raise. That seemed to draw the line about what the system would be in New York, for better or worse. Worse won out with a 4-12 record in 2007, but the Jets didn't build on that team. Instead they spent money like crazy to bring in new players which seemed to be working out when they ran off to an 8-3 record.
The last of the players added in that spree was Brett Favre, of course, which meant Pennington had to go away. Process didn't matter in that decision. In fact, process has never actually mattered in Mangini's reign of inconsistency, unless he's using it as a way to escape criticism for awful play and nonsensical coaching.
All of which would add up to a heaping helping of irony if Pennington, someone who actually bought into the "process," was the man to bring it to a screeching halt.
